Shreveport’s Drew Merrow is a Renaissance man of sorts, a polymath if you will, and being homeschooled plays a critical part in creating a teenager to perhaps model your own teenager after.

One afternoon last week, Merrow was at the piano practicing Frederic Chopin’s Etude in E Major Opus 10 No. 3 in preparation for the Louisiana piano rally in April. But before his fingers tickle the ivories in that competition, he’ll use his hands in an attempt to lead the Shreveport Force, a basketball team comprised of northwest Louisiana homeschooled athletes, to a second consecutive Association of Christian Educators of Louisiana championship.

Shreveport Homeschool Sports has been competing in several ACEL sports for the past four years, but it’s an organization that typically runs under the radar. The boys’ basketball team has seen a lot of success under the direction of Josh Garrett, a pastor at the Lovewell Center through The Hub Urban Ministries.

“We play against some unbelievable talent in some of the tournaments we go to,” Garrett said. “There are about 400 teams in Texas. Justin Jackson was a homeschooled teenager before playing at North Carolina and now in the NBA.”

Julian Pongyan puts up a shot for the Shreveport Force, a Shreveport team comprised of homeschooled athletes.(Photo: Sandra Merrow/Contributed photo)

The Shreveport Force plays most of its games against small private schools like Bethel Christian School in Ruston, CHA Northeast in Monroe and Mt. Olive Christian School. There are three divisions within the state, each containing about six schools.

Shreveport is 15-2 overall, 10-0 in the North Division heading into the second round of the playoffs, scheduled for Friday. The Force will host Mount Olive Christian School at 7 p.m. Friday at Kingston Road Baptist Church. The ACEL’s Final Four is slated for Feb. 16-17.

Merrow and Sam Wolfe are the only varsity seniors, while Andrew Dubriske, Skylar Goodman and Coleson Shaw make up the strong junior class. Sophomores Dawson Phillips and Cole Goodman are also added to the mix.

The Shreveport Force also has track and volleyball for the girls and has had a girls’ basketball team in the past.

The team doesn’t have a home basketball court, but has been allowed to practice and play games at Kingston Road in Shreveport.

“They are gracious to let us use it,” Garrett said. “We used Springs of Grace for a while.”

There are four freshman on the junior varsity team, and Garrett said the future appears bright.

“We’ve started a middle school team and we have about 20 on that team, playing schools like Evangel,” he said.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-5 Merrow is just glad to have his feet on the ground in one place long enough to finish school. He was born in Montana, lived in California, Nebraska and Wyoming before moving to Louisiana from Virginia. His father is a “missileer,” working with nuclear weapons for the Air Force. Merrow has been homeschooled since the second grade, the same as his older and younger sister.

“I love it because it gives you control over your education,” he said. “You can take whatever classes you’d like and you can work around your schedule. You just find the educational system that works for you.”

The Shreveport Force is a team of homeschooled athletes.(Photo: Sandra Merrow/Contributed photo)

Merrow is heavy on the numbers. He’s averaging 22.9 points per game, the sixth-best mark in the state per MaxPreps, and 10.5 rebounds per contest. Off the court he carries a 3.95 GPA and has scored a 30 on the ACT. He plans to attend Louisiana Tech in the fall and major in cyber engineering.

The athletic highlights have been plenty for Merrow through his first three-plus seasons in the ACEL. He scored a Force record 47 points against Mt. Olive this season, while recording a trio of triple-doubles. He had 40 points, 18 rebounds and 12 blocks against Garrett, while replacing the blocks with double-digit assists in another contest.